Villanova battles to a win over Richmond

November 9, 2019 – Villanova, PA — After a string of losses, Villanova was looking to right the ship back on their home turf. They did so in a tight battle with the Richmond Spiders, winning 35-28.

In addition to honoring our veterans the weekend before Veteran’s Day, the fans also celebrated the return of their 2009 FCS Championship team.

Nova set the tone and started the scoring on the opening kickoff, with a spectacular 100-yard kick return by Nowoola Awopetu. Richmond came right back with a 25-yard TD run by QB Joe Mancuso. Later in the first quarter, Villanova’s QB Daniel Smith bolted for his own 25-yard TD run. But he back and forth continued when Mancuso ran for a 35-yard touchdown to end the quarter tied at 14.

Richmond started the back and forth scoring in the 2nd with TD pass from Mancuso to wide-receiver Keyston Fuller. The Wildcats answered with a 37-yard score by running back Dee Will Barlee. Nova’s defense helped slow Richmond’s scoring, including an interception by linebacker Drew Wiley inside Nova’s 10 yard line. But Mancuso closed the first-half scoring with a 4-yard TD pass to Fuller to put the Spiders up 28-21.

After a scoreless 3rd quarter, Smith tallied his second touchdown with a 9-yard run and dive across the goal line to tie the game 28-28. Nova’s defense shut down the Spider’s offense the entire second half, and the offense scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 20-yard run by T.D. Aye-Durojaiye.